A class 1 integron present in a human commensal has a hybrid transposition module compared to Tn402: evidence of interaction with mobile DNA from natural environments

M. Labbate*, P. Roy Chowdhury, H. W. Stokes

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    37 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    In a survey of class 1 integrons from human stools, an unusual class 1 integron from a strain of Enterobacter cloacae was isolated and characterized in detail. Sequence analysis of a fosmid containing the class 1 integron revealed a complex set of transposons which included two Tn402-like transposons. One of these transposons, Tn6007, included a class 1 integron with two non-antibiotic-resistance-type gene cassettes and a complete transposition module. This tni module is a hybrid with a boundary within the res site compared to Tn402, implying that a site-specific recombination event generated either Tn6007 or Tn402. The second Tn402-like transposon, Tn6008, possesses neither a mer operon nor an integron, and most of its tni module has been deleted. Tn6007, Tn6008, and the 2,478 bases between them, collectively designated Tn6006, have transposed into a Tn5036/Tn3926-like transposon as a single unit. Tn6006, Tn6007, and Tn6008 could all transpose as discrete entities. Database analysis also revealed that a version of Tn6008 was present in the genome of Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria. Overall, the E. cloacae isolate further demonstrated that functional class 1 integrons/transposons are probably common in bacterial communities and have the potential to add substantially to the problem of multidrug-resistant nosocomial infections.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)5318-5327
    Number of pages10
    JournalJournal of Bacteriology
    Volume190
    Issue number15
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Aug 2008

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